Even though it's an easy target, this challenge has led me to the most amazing experiences I've ever had when designing:

I'm unable to write my design down. It's... grueling and horrible but dammit, I'll design it! It's so profound and capable of physically connecting the player to the game.

Think I'll sleep on it first, though.

Where was I?

Oh, right!

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Brother & Sister

The Game

Brother & Sister is a 2D, multiplayer sidescroller which makes use of the iPad's light sensor, microphone and multitouch capabilities.

The game aims to physically connect the player to the horrors of war and the loss of family and friends in a multiplayer environment.

In the game the player takes on the role of either a boy or girl (brother and sister), who are searching for one another and later their parents in a war-torn city.

Throughout the game the player comes across enemies he has to avoid and obstacles to overcome.

The game is divided in levels, which are one 'screen' each. These levels are generated randomly per playthrough.

The game is played entirely in landscape mode.

Player Goal

Successfully navigate the city, find the sibling and later their parents.

Player Loss and Victory

The player loses when he is discovered by the enemy and caught or killed. When the sibling is discovered, the player can still continue the game.

The game will however be much harder to win.

The player wins by taking out enemies.

Movement

To overcome challenges the player can walk, crawl, jump and hide. All of the moves are finger controlled.

The player walks by tapping two fingers on the screen, alternating between them, simulating walking. Direction is determined by which side of the character the player taps.

To switch to crawl-mode the player slides a finger across the character from top to bottom.

Crawling is the same as walking. The player turns to walk-mode by sliding from bottom to top.

To jump the player 'draws' the direction of the jump across the screen, starting from the character.

Hiding is done in specific spots. To hide the player slides multiple fingers from top to bottom over the hiding spot several times, depending on the hiding spot.

Light and Dark

At certain points the game will turn either completely bright or dark. This is caused by for instance a sudden, blinding flash of light or a lack of lights. The player will have to physically move himself and the iPad to a darker or lighter location to return the screen to normal.

After finding eachother, the two players can both affect the game's brightness. One player can for instance move a crate, while the other manages brightness.

Enemies are also affected by the lighting mechanics, controlled by player actions: enemies will be blinded if the player physically turns on a light.

Turning off all lights will darken the entire screen, leaving enemies unable to see the player.

Interface

After finding eachother, players can talk through eachother using the microphone. This is the only way players can communicate.

Talking when enemies are around will cause the players to be discovered, which ends the game.

Enemies have a coloured glow, indicating their state. This glow is visible regardless of brightness.

A white glow means the enemy is 'neutral'.
Yellow means the enemy is 'alerted'.
Red means the enemy has spotted the player.

How are you going to make this a cool stealth game? You completely glossed over any aspect of the game play that could explain why this game would be fun to play. Give an example of one of the puzzles or situations the player would find themselves in. Describing the light sensing capabilities is not nearly enough to give a picture of the game.

How are you going to make this a cool stealth game? You completely glossed over any aspect of the game play that could explain why this game would be fun to play. Give an example of one of the puzzles or situations the player would find themselves in. Describing the light sensing capabilities is not nearly enough to give a picture of the game.

Five hundred words... blablabla... yaddayaddayadda.

Think I've gone too much into detail on some aspects and left too much open at others.

The light mechanic, the multi-touch controls and communication between players are the three 'things' of this.

It's a challenge of trying to get the entire game across, without missing important bits.
Then again, I've had this gamedesigny approach to it. Should I go for a concept approach instead?

It seems like you've detailed the "selling points" of your game, like what would be on the back of the box, but not what playing the game would actually be like. I'd try and fit in an example of one of the puzzles you'd have to solve.

And are you sure people will enjoy having to get up and move to a different room when the game demands it? What if they're on a bus? Or outside?

Isaak, good luck on starting over. The idea you presented before felt kind of off. It seems like every time a device has light-sensing, people rush to come up with awkward games that require the player get up and move around... which is just kind of a bad idea in general.

I myself won't be submitting anything for this challenge, a family member has been in the hospital for the last week and my free time has been devoted to grabbing meals and naps at every opportunity. The family member in question is home now, however, and doing alright considering... just in case anyone was wondering.